Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to hike defence spending further after Vladimir Putin warned Russia was “ready for war” with Europe .

The Prime Minister evaded a question in the Commons on Wednesday as to whether the UK was ready to defend itself from Putin, prompting warnings that Britain was “entirely unprepared for war”.

Putin’s comments came after he again rejected US-led peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine, complaining that Kyiv and Europe had made unacceptable changes to a draft peace plan. New Feature

In Short

Quick Stories. Same trusted journalism.

The comments were dismissed by the UK as “sabre-rattling” while Starmer’s official spokesman described them as “Russian claptrap”.

But the PM’s refusal in the Commons to say the UK was ready for war sparked concern and

See Full Page